The invention relates to tools and methods of inserting threaded objects, such as studs or connectors, into a workpiece. The threaded object to be inserted is typically a shaft which has external threads along its entire length. Usually one end of the threaded object is to be driven into the workpiece and the other end of the threaded object is to extend above the workpiece so that other objects can thereafter be threaded onto the protruding end of the threaded object.
The rotation of threaded objects in the withdrawal direction as the tool is removed therefrom is a problem, particularly for connectors threaded into thin film enclosures.
The prior art contains a variety of different tools having fingers which grasp the threaded object and cause the threaded object to rotate with the tool. To use this type of tool the tool is placed over the end of the object, the fingers are made to engage the object, and the tool is rotated in the insertion direction to thread the object into a workpiece. After the object has been fully inserted, the fingers are made to release the object so that the tool can be removed from the end of the object without reverse rotating the tool or the object. Examples of such tools can be seen in the Shinn U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,876, and the McKean U.S. Pat. No. 4,513,643.
Such tools are often mechanically complex, subject to frequent breakdown, and are expensive to produce. In addition, the fingers of such tools must be soft enough to avoid damage to the threads of the threaded object, tend to wear quickly and require periodic replacement.
Less mechanically complex tools which have a receptacle with interior threads are placed over the end of the threaded object and threaded onto the end of the object until the end of the object contacts the end of the receptacle. The tool may then be rotated in the insertion direction to thread the object into a workpiece. Once the object has been fully inserted the tool is rotated in the reverse direction to unthread the tool from the end of the object. An example of this type of tool is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,625 to Bonner.
However, the force which is used to drive the object into the workpiece often causes the tool to become tightly attached to the end of the object. Once the object has been fully inserted in the workpiece, the frictional forces which hold the tool to the end of the object may be difficult to overcome and, when the tool is rotated in the reverse direction to remove it from the end of the object, the friction bond tends to cause the object to rotate in the reverse direction.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to obviate the problem of the known prior art tools and to provide a novel, inexpensive, simple-to-produce tool which may be used to insert a threaded object into a workpiece and thereafter removed from the threaded object without the application of significant reverse rotating force to the threaded object.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel tool and method of inserting a threaded object into a workpiece by simple forward and reverse rotation of the tool.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a novel tool and method to drive a connector into a thin film enclosure and leave the connector at its fully inserted position, so that minimal electrical insertion losses are experienced in the connector.
These and many other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains from a perusal of the claims, the appended drawings, and the following detailed description of preferred embodiments.